Making the Connection – Food Security and Public Health Submitted to The Ministry of Health Services and The Health Authorities of British Columbia by The Community Nutritionists Council of BC June 2004 National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data Community Nutritionists Council of BC Making the Connection – Food Security and Public Health ISBN 0-9735758-0-8 For further information please contact: Community Nutritionists Council of BC Donna Antonishak, RD 2003-2004 Chair c/o Interior Health Authority, 1440 14th Avenue, Vernon, BC V1B 2T1 E-mail: [email protected] or Barbarah Tinskamper, RD c/o Vancouver Coastal Health Authority 59 West Pender Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 1R3 E-mail: [email protected] or Barbara Seed, RD c/o Fraser Health Authority, Public Health, Berkeley Pavillion 15476 Vine Avenue, White Rock, BC V4B 5M2 E-mail: [email protected] Endorsements and Support This document has received endorsement from: The Health Officers Council of BC BC Association of Social Workers BC Food Systems Network Public Health Association of BC Farm Folk City Folk First Call, BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition Professor Graham Riches, Director School of Social Work and Family Studies, University of British Columbia This document has the support of: Dietitians of Canada, BC Region i Discussion Paper on Food Security and Public Health This document was developed through discussions among community nutritionists in British Columbia and dialogue with those involved in food security and health care. The consultants/writers hired for this project assembled facts, ideas and concepts and gathered the references. The main consultants/writers are: Kathleen Gibson Cathleen Kneen Joanne Houghton ii Acknowledgements The Community Nutritionists Council of BC respectfully acknowledges the contributions to this discussion paper made by the Community Nutritionists and Consultants. The work of the Consultants was instru- mental in creating this document. The Council wishes to acknowledge Barbara Seed and Barbarah Tinskamper for managing the project. Heartfelt thanks are extended to the consultants Kathleen Gibson and Cathleen Kneen who gathered the evidence and crafted the first draft of the paper. The Council acknowl- edges the contributions of Joanne Houghton who was the lead author of the final document. The significant contributions of Cathryn Wellner, Beverly Grice and Susan LeGresley also deserve recognition. The Council extends its appreciation to Lorie Hrycuik, Barbara Seed and Laura Kalina for developing the communication plan and tools for the dissemination of the document. The Council gratefully acknowledges Health Canada as the lead funder and also expresses its sincere appreciation for the financial support from Interior Health, Northern Health, Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, Vancouver Island Health Authority, Kamloops Food Policy Council and the BC Government and Service Employees’ Union. Recognition from the Council to each member of the Food Security Standing Committee for assistance in preparing this document: Food Security Standing Committee Members Donna Antonishak Jeri Manley Joanne Houghton Dania Matiation Lorie Hrycuik Barbara Seed Laura Kalina Loraina Stephen Pamela Kheong Barbarah Tinskamper Susan LeGresley Deanna Tan Vidizzon iii iv Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. iii Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................ vii 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1 2 Understanding Food Security ............................................................................................................ 3 3 Food-related Illness and Disease – Evidence that Food Security is Lacking ........................................ 6 Hunger and Food Insecurity ............................................................................................................... 6 Malnutrition ....................................................................................................................................... 6 Obesity .............................................................................................................................................. 7 Chronic Disease ................................................................................................................................. 8 Food-borne Illness .............................................................................................................................. 9 4 Food System Trends ......................................................................................................................... 11 Factors Giving Rise to Food Related Illness and Disease ................................................................... 11 Lack of Coherent Food Policy........................................................................................................... 11 Consolidation, Control and Distancing ............................................................................................. 12 Growing Food Safety Concerns ........................................................................................................ 14 Proliferation of “Value-added” Foods ............................................................................................... 15 Food Miles ....................................................................................................................................... 16 Food Poverty .................................................................................................................................... 16 Pushing the Package: The Influence of Advertising ........................................................................... 18 Poor Eating Habits ............................................................................................................................ 18 Reorienting the System Towards Health............................................................................................ 19 5 The Financial Burden of Disease ...................................................................................................... 21 6 Food Security Interventions ............................................................................................................. 23 Emergence of BC’s Community Food Security Movement ................................................................ 23 The Community Food Security Continuum ....................................................................................... 24 Efficiency strategies ................................................................................................................... 24 Participation/transition strategies................................................................................................ 24 Redesign strategies .................................................................................................................... 25 Food Security Framework .......................................................................................................... 25 Current Contributions of the Health Sector ....................................................................................... 26 7 Potential for Community Food Security ........................................................................................... 27 Health Outcomes of Food Security Interventions .............................................................................. 27 Emerging Community Food Security Indicators ................................................................................ 30 v 8 Successful Food Security Initiatives ................................................................................................. 33 At the International and National Level ............................................................................................ 33 Norway’s Food Policy ............................................................................................................... 33 Toronto Food Policy Council .....................................................................................................34 The Best of BC.................................................................................................................................. 35 Cooking Fun for Families Program ............................................................................................. 35 Build it and They will Come! Nanaimo Foodshare ..................................................................... 36 Making the Links: BC’s Food System Network ........................................................................... 38 Healthy Eating Active Living in Northern BC ............................................................................. 39 Kamloops Food Policy Council .................................................................................................. 40 Food For Kidz ............................................................................................................................ 41 Vancouver Food Policy Task Force............................................................................................. 41 Capital Regional Food and Agriculture Initiatives Roundtable